


Marry Me

by honestgrins



Series: Until the Bitter End [12]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-02-27
Packaged: 2018-09-27 07:04:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9982118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: Prompt from Anonymous: Could you do a drabble about Stefan adoring Caroline's craziness over wedding planning?





	

It was a well known fact that Stefan was not the cheesy romantic of the relationship. He remembered important dates and did surprisingly sweet, thoughtful things; there was no production about it, no candles and rose petals.

For him, their love was simple and perfect in its simplicity. He loved Caroline and wanted her to be happy - that was all he needed.

Caroline was a production in and of herself, and Stefan loved watching her excitedly take on another challenge. She found him the rare Bon Jovi signed album Lexi had accidentally left in some bar back in the nineties. If he dropped by work for a surprise lunch, she would swoon and insist upon planning a dinner date in return. A shopping trip wasn't complete without some shirt that brought out the color of his eyes, her favorite sun-bright shade that apparently reminded her of their first kiss. Caroline loved romance; Stefan loved her.

And he was going to marry her.

The morning after his renewed proposal, Stefan woke to his nose buried in her nest of blonde hair. Caroline was awake, he knew. As a vampire, he would be able to feel the contained energy buzzing under her skin, the twitch of her eyelashes against the air when she remembered to press them closed to keep up the ruse. With his dull human senses, though, the truth was in the unnatural stillness of her body, like she was trying to remain perfectly in position lest she wake him by moving.

"Good morning," he croaked, nuzzling deeper into her space. "Are you planning, or are you having second thoughts?"

She rolled over smoothly, giggling when he pulled her closer to him. "Actually, I was just trying to enjoy a moment of peace with my fiance," Caroline answered primly. "We have a nasty habit of finding trouble we don't want to be in, let alone to drag each other along with it."

Stroking his thumb along the pattern of freckles on her cheek, Stefan pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Okay," he whispered. "Aside from cuddling, what's the plan for today?"

"I'm going to head over to the Armory for a bit, and I was hoping you might join me. Not only have the girls been missing you, I could use your help bringing boxes back to the house."

"Boxes," Stefan said, confused.

Embarrassed, Caroline hid her face in his shoulder. "I kind of stored all the wedding things over there," she admitted. "Out of sight, out of mind and all that."

Stefan swallowed painfully. "Oh."

"But, you're back," she pointed out cheerfully, her smile crinkling her eyes. Biting her lip, though, the joy in expression dimmed after a moment. "I mean, I know we probably aren't back to full steam ahead for the whole June wedding thing. I'd understand if you want an adjustment period, maybe push things back. I haven't actually canceled any of the earlier arrangements yet, I literally just boxed up the stuff. According to our vendors, there's totally a Forbes-Salvatore wedding happening June third, but I can get us out of it if-"

"Hey." Stefan let his hand settle on her neck, a finger idly tracing the edge of her ear. He leaned over for a sweet kiss. "June third sounds perfect for a happily ever after with my best friend."

Had he not been watching her carefully, he might have missed the flash of anxiety that crossed her eyes. "What is it?"

She pulled him in for a drugging kiss, which dulled the inhuman pressure she just barely exerted against the back of his shoulder to hold him close. "Is it bad," she asked in a low voice, "that I just to flash us to the nearest courthouse and get it over with? I want the fairytale, I do, but I also don't want to wait. Bad things happen when we hesitate."

Stefan gave a sad smile. "I'm sorry."

Her face screwed into a frown at his vague apology.

"I'm sorry to have shaken your confidence in me," he clarified, hugging her tightly.

"It's not that," Caroline sighed. She pressed her lips together as she considered the best way to explain. Propping her head up with her arm, she let the other stroke along Stefan's chest. "You're human now." Her hand landed on his heart. "I don't want to waste a single minute we-"

We have left.

The unfinished sentence sat heavy between them. Uncomfortable topics in the past had sat unmentioned, hidden away at every moment. Stefan didn't want to do that anymore. They were partners, and they needed to be open and honest, always. "I'm going to love you for the rest of my life, Caroline Forbes," he vowed. "That won't change, no matter when we get married."

Caroline smiled, pressing herself against him with an exaggerated sigh. "Then I can probably wait for at least a day," she lamented airily. "I don't really want to leave this bed yet anyway. It's been lonely without you."

"You have no idea." He nuzzled into her hair again, breathing deeply. The muddled scent of her shampoo, conditioning cream, and sweat were less potent to his human senses, but they were no less sweet to his nose. It was the smell of home, and it comforted Stefan to his bones. "I could lay here forever."

When Caroline stiffened in his arms, he wanted to smack himself for the idle thought. 'Forever' meant something different for them now. Before he could address it, though, the front door loudly burst open downstairs.

"Up and at'em, lovebirds," Damon called. "We've got a problem."

"What's his problem?" Caroline groaned. She burrowed her head under a pillow, much to Stefan's amusement. "That he doesn't understand the concept of private time?"

"No, Blondie," Damon snapped, "my problem is a dead doppelgänger coming back to kick all our asses. You want cuddle time with your fiancé? Good luck prying him from Katherine Pierce's cold, dead, devil hands. Now, get down here!"

Stefan and Caroline turned to face each other, eyes wide in shock. "What?!"


End file.
